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Dawn Longchamp
Dawn Longchamp '''(born Eugenia Grace Cutler) is the main female character in The Cutler Series, by V.C. Andrews, she is the daughter of Laura Sue and William Cutler, as well as the mother of Christie and Jefferson Longchamp. Birth & Kidnapping , as a teenager.]]In the mid 1970's after Laura Sue's marriage to William Cutler's son Randolph, William raped Laura Sue which resulted in the birth of a baby girl (Dawn). Because William's wife Lillian Cutler felt threatened by Laura Sue as well as outraged by this "affair", she arranged for the infant Dawn to be kidnapped by the Longchamp Family. Ormand Longchamp and his wife were working in Cutler's Cove at the time, when Lillian discovered Sally Jean Longchamp had recently given birth to a stillborn daughter and already had a one-year-old son named James, so Lillian somehow convinced Ormand and Sally to take Laura Sue's unborn child once it was born. After Laura Sue gave birth to a girl, the baby was quickly taken away from Laura Sue without her getting to hold her baby girl (see Pg. 145 Twilight's Child); Lillian named the baby Eugenia Grace Cutler, after her dead sister Eugenia Booth. Less than a few days after Eugenia's birth, Lillian arranged for her house keeper and granddaughter's nurse to leave the room and come back looking scarce as soon as Oramand kidnapped baby Eugenia. The kidnapping was a success, and just before Sally and Ormand left Cutler's Cove, Lillian inadvertently gave Sally Laura Sue's pearl's a a keepsake for Eugenia. Sally and Ormand's escape was covered by Lillian, who threw the police off their trail. The baby was renamed Dawn Longchamp by Sally because she named her after the Dawn sky right after she gave birth to her in the back of a pickup truck which would by the first of many lies (See Pg. 1, of Dawn). She was actually named in honor of the stillborn baby girl Sally gave birth to prior to the kidnapping. Dawn Late in the night, 14-year-old Dawn and her family are told by her father Ormand to pack up their things because Ormand had found another job and place to live. The Longchamps settle in Richmond, Virgina, and move into an old dilapidated apartment building with peeling off wallpaper. Less than a few months after the family move, Dawn's mother Sally Jean, gets pregnant and gives birth to a girl, Fern, whom Dawn is forced to care for due to her mother's ill condition. Ormand first works as a car engineer, and later gets a job as the school janitor at Emerson Peabody, which enables Dawn and Jimmy to attend Emerson Peabody. At Emerson Peabody Dawn makes a friend Louise Williams, and a vicious rival Clara Sue Cutler. During the school year Clara Sue and her posse bully Dawn and her brother Jimmy, and the school principal Mrs. Turnbell is scornful to Dawn. Besides the cruelty at Emerson, Dawn finds hope when her teacher Mr. Moore is especially kind to her and picks her for the solo in the school concert; she also meets the handsome Philip Cutler, who falls in love with her at first sight. On Dawn's second day of school Clara Sue ambushes Dawn in the hallway and calls her both a charity case and poor white trash, out of anger for Dawn getting picked for the solo over her. Clara Sue also tells Dawn that Philip only wants Dawn for sex and he makes girls like her mothers once a month. Stunned and outraged, Dawn refuses to believe Clara's cruel words. Later on Dawn goes for a ride with Philip, after he begs her simultaneously, alone on a deserted hill Philip tells Dawn that she's cute and very pretty, he then tries to have sex with her, unfortunately Dawn freaks out when he touches her nipple and pulls away. Dawn and Philip then talk about their childhoods and Dawn tells Philip a fake story about her visiting her grandfather on a farm, which she felt was making Philip regret his life. After talking, Philip drives Dawn home and asks if she has a number he can call her at, she tells him that her family doesn't have a phone, he laughs and tells her he'll see her the next day. At home that night Sally Jean and Ormand scold Dawn for going out with Philip alone without telling anyone and for seeing Philip in the first place. Jimmy just sits on the couch reading a comic book and covering his face with it so Dawn is unable to see his face and him hers. Dawn's parents tell her not to see Philip nor take rides with him again, after Sally Jean coughs Dawn reluctantly agrees and goes off to help with dinner. Later in bed that night, Jimmy turns over on his side to Dawn and explains how he did not mean to get her in trouble, he didn't tell their father where she was going and the next thing he knew was that they were rushing home. Dawn believes Jimmy and tries to go to sleep, while unable to remove Philip's face from her mind. As the days went on Philip grew more persistent of Dawn, while Clara Sue grew more vicious, and Dawn took piano lessons from Mr. Moore, which doubled as the spring concert date drew closer. The day of the concert Dawn freezes up in her singing and has tells Mr. Moore that he was wrong to pick her for the solo. Mr. Moore disagrees and says he wouldn't have picked her if he thought she was no good, he also reminds her about her dream and that this singing in front of the school was one step closer to that dream of hers. After school, Philip meets Dawn and tells her the baseball practice ended early, Dawn tells him about the solo and about Clara Sue's anger, Philip replies: Dawn denies Clara Sue's singing voice as bad and behaves modestly, their talk leads them into a discussion about poker, in which Philip states how much he would like to play strip poker with her, Dawn gets nervous and tells him that she has to go meet her father and Jimmy. Philip asks Dawn to wait and asks her to ask her dad if he would be allowed to drive her to the concert since it is a special occasion and all, Dawn reluctantly agrees. Dawn tells both Jimmy and her father on getting the solo, both of them congratulate her, but then as Dawn asks her father if Philip could take her to the concert, Ormand's smile suddenly vanishes to worry, he tells her "we'll see." Sally Jean's Death When Jimmy, Dawn and Ormand arrive home they find that Sally Jean's condition has gotten worse by a fever and she needs medical attention. Sally Jean screams out noo! and refuses to go, when Ormand dresses Sally Dawn is shocked by how much weight her mother has lost, afterwards Ormand drives Sally to the hospital where they are met by a security guard who tries to remember where he recognizes Ormand from, no one notices expect for Dawn and by that time the nurse arrives. Sally is admitted a placed into the intensive care unit, Ormand, Jimmy and Dawn are told by a male doctor with red hair, that he they can only visit Sally for five minutes. Ormand and Jimmy go in first while the Dawn watches Fern, after they come out Ormand tells Dawn that her mother is asking for her. Dawn enters the ward to the far right end and sees Sally in a oxygen tent, barely able to breathe, Dawn is horrified by the sigh of this. Dawn tells Sally that she can't sing, not when Sally is ill, Sally begs Dawn to sing and keep her promise afterward, Sally urges dawn to come closer and she grabs Dawn's hand. Holding Dawn's hand tight she says: Dawn asks why but Sally Jean doesn't respond and by that time the nurse comes in telling Dawn her time is up. Dawn and her family quickly rush home just in time to prepare for the concert, finally when Dawn is finished her father tells her she looks beautiful and gives her a string of pearls of which her mother said were a family heirloom and insurance policy as long as she could remember. Ormand tells Dawn she must wear them as ordered by Sally Jean, Dawn reluctantly agrees as Ormand puts them on for the special occasion. Philip arrives, and there is an awkward tension between Philip and Ormand, just as they are about to leave Jimmy kisses Dawn on the cheek wishing her good luck. When Dawn arrives backstage, Linda compliments Dawn on the pearls that her mother Sally Jean gave her to wear; Clara Sue snaps back stating how her mother said that you can't tell real pearl from fake ones nowadays. Dawn tells Clara Sue that the pearls were a family heirloom and almost has it out with Clara Sue, Dawn is then told by Louise to ignore Clara and her posse. Dawn goes out on stage to sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", and just as she sings the final note of the song, her mother Sally Jean could have possible died. After the concert Dawn is congradulated by various rich parents as well as both Philip and her father Ormand, Dawn asks her father if she could go out for pizza, at first Ormand hesitates for unknown reasons and then allows her to go. In the car, Philip tries to make out with Dawn again and hopes to have sex with her. Just as Philip is about to pursue Dawn, his friends get in the way and Dawn tells Philip that it is late and needs to go home, frustrated Philip agrees and drives her home. Just as she arrives home, Dawn sees her father and Jimmy both rushing to the car, Dawn asks them what happened and Ormand tells her the hospital called, and that Sally isn't doing well, Dawn rushes in Ormand's car and Philip tells her he'll see her the next day. At the hospital Dawn and her family are met by that same security guard earlier, and he asks where they are going, still trying to recall where he had seen Ormand's face. The the same doctor from earlier that day, doctor came out and tells Ormand that Sally jean had passed away a little more than ten minutues ago, at first Ormand is in denial while Jimmy runs away from the hospital all the way home. Dawn and her father enter the morgue and find Sally Jean lying on a gurney looking at peace, they soon discover that right before she died she had a smile on her face, Ormand hints that she must have heard Dawn sing, before passing. Days later, Sally Jean was buried in Richmond cemetary, in which Dawn, Jimmy, Fern, Ormand, Philip, Louise, Mrs. Jackson and friends from Ormand's work all attend Sally Jean's funeral. Returned to the Cutler Family After Sally's funeral, Dawn hears a knock on their home's door. The visitor turns out to be a police officer, reporting a kidnapping. When Dawn inquires who was kidnapped, we learn it was Dawn's own kidnapping 15 years ago. She and her siblings are taken away separately, as she learns of her abduction by Ormand and Sally Longchamp, and the truth about her real family, which turns out to be the Cutlers - thus making her Philip and Clara Sue's sister. Her true identity is proven by a birthmark she shares with the kidnapped baby, and is immediately taken to Cutler's Cove. Her grandmother, Lillian, is not happy to be reunited with her lost-lost grandchild and treats Dawn with open disdain. She orders Dawn to work as a maid to prove she is trustworthy and will be called by Eugenia. Dawn is stunned by this cold treatment. Of all the Cutler family members, only her father, Randolph, is happy that Dawn is back. However, when Dawn tries to appeal to her parents for help against Lillian, they offer little to no help; Randolph is dependent on his mother and believes her to be doing what is in Dawn's best interest. Her mother, Laura Sue, often feigns illnesses to escape from her parental responsibilities and is completely cued by Lillian. Philip tries to offer her some comfort to adapt to the family but Clara Sue now hates Dawn even more because she was used as a replacement baby after Dawn was kidnapped. Dawn finds a friend in Ms. Boston, a maid, who can't believe that Ormand and Sally Jean could have done the things Lillian says they did. Over time, Dawn tries to earn her grandmother's trust by excelling in her job and singing a song for her birthday, but Lillian continues to ignore her and Clara Sue sets out to get Dawn kicked out by stealing valuables from guests, and pinning the blame on Dawn. Eventually, Philip arranges a secret visit between Dawn and Jimmy, who ran away from his foster family. Jimmy confesses his love to Dawn and she reciprocates, but they have trouble overcoming their upbringing as brother and sister. After Lillian finds Jimmy and sends him away, Dawn is determined to get out. jealous of her affection for Jimmy, Philip rapes her, leaving her sad and confused. She seeks help from her former nurse, who tells Dawn that it was actually Lillian who arranged the kidnapping because Randolph is not her biological father. Dawn confronts Lillian, who admits everything and offers her a deal: if Dawn will go to a singing school in New York, she will get Ormand out of prison. Dawn agrees, and also requests that she be referred to as Dawn, not Eugenia. Secrets of the Morning ]] Dawn arrives in New York and enters in a boarding house as she is enrolled in the prestigious music school, Sarah Bernhardt School for Performing Arts. However, she is distrusted by Headmistress Agnes due to the false allegations Lillian said about Dawn being spoiled and promicious. However, she is later able to win Agnes' trust with her brilliant singing skills and hard work. Dawn becomes best friends with her roommate, Trisha Kramer, and meets several classmates, who have different dreams. During her first year, she reunites with Jimmy, who has entered in the army, and they attempt to make love after their first date, but decide to wait until they are both ready and able to overcome their past as siblings. They continue to stay in touch through letters. In her second year, she is enrolled in a special singing program led by her teacher, the famous opera singer Michael Sutton. Michael takes a special interest in Dawn and invites her to his apartment, where he seduces her. Although she feels guilty for betraying Jimmy, Dawn falls in love with Michael and begins fantasizing a happy future with him. On Thanksgiving, Dawn is horrified when she finds out she is pregnant with Michael's child, but Michael seems less upset when she tells him the news and he promises to marry her and they will be famous singers after the baby is born. Dawn is thrilled by his promise, but on Christmas, she finds out from Trisha that Michael has left and gone on tour to London. She mistakenly thinks he's going to take her with him, and goes to his apartment, only to find that he's been subletting it from an old man and his presents to Dawn are empty boxes. Confused, she goes out searching for Michael and gets hit by a car after she things she sees him on the street. In the hospital, the doctor tells Dawn that she and her baby are alright, but Dawn is sad as she realizes that Michael seduced and abandoned her. Lillian sends her to The Meadows, where she placed in the care of Lillian's sisters, Emily and Charlotte. Dawn is forced to wear two old, dirty gowns, sleep in a dark, uncomfortable room, and do maid-like chores that seem to increase the risk of a miscarriage. Dawn is constantly ridiculed by Emily for being a sinner and evil due to her pregnancy. Dawn finds comfort in Charlotte, who is mentally disabled. As Dawn enters in the final months of her pregnancy, she finds a nursery in the house and Charlotte reveals that she once had a child that was taken away after it was born because it had horns like the devil. Dawn tries to look into this more, but she is caught by Emily and the ensuing fight between them results in Dawn taking a bad fall and going into labor a month early. Dawn gives birth to a baby girl, whom she names Christie, and Emily takes the baby away after Dawn falls asleep. When she wakes up, Emily said the baby was too small, leading Dawn to think the baby died. As she is getting ready to leave, Jimmy arrives after not hearing from her in almost a year and Trisha told him about her pregnancy and being sent away. He threatens to have Emily arrested for kidnapping the baby if she doesn't tell them where it is. Emily tells them that Lillian arranged for the baby to be given up for adoption, so they head back to Cutler's Cove but learn Lillian is in the hospital after suffering a stroke. Dawn demands to know where her baby is, but all Lillian says is "You're my curse." as she dies. Days later, the wills of Lillian and her husband are read to the family, and are shocked to learn about the truth regarding Dawn's conception and William left a large amount of his fortune and ownership of the hotel to Dawn. Dawn confronts her mother about what she has learned, but Laura Sue is too embarrassed to say anything except that Dawn should be happy that she is the new owner of Cutler's Cove and can lead a wealthy, happy life without the baby. Dawn is disgusted with her mother and says she would rather be happier if the hotel was burned to the ground. She sets out with Jimmy to out where her daughter. Twilight's Child Dawn and Jimmy locate the family that adopted her daughter, Christie, and after a brief custody battle, they get Christie back after it is revealed that Lillian forged Dawn's signature on the adoption papers. Although she dislikes the hotel and would rather be a singer, Dawn decides to take full ownership of it. A year later, she marries Jimmy and they finally consummate their relationship during their honeymoon. After Randolph is found dead at his mother's grave, Dawn is shocked to see her mother remarry to Bronson Alcott within a few months. However, she quickly warms up to her kind, new stepfather, and learns from him that Clara Sue is actually his daughter and asks for advice on how to have a relationship with his daughter. Soon after, Dawn finds out she is pregnant with Jimmy's child. Dawn arranges to have Clara Sue move in with her mother and stepfather, but her sister is enraged by this decision and attacks Dawn, causing her to miscarry. After this tragedy, dawn withdraws from her family and spends all her time operating the hotel to ease her grief. Dawn is also put at risk by Philip's abnormal behavior towards her; he continues to talk to Dawn as if she were his girlfriend and fantasizing them together. Even after Philip finally marries and has twin children, he continues to obsess over Dawn, and she tries to avoid him as much as possible. After her miscarriage, Dawn has been unable to conceive, which the doctors contribute to her emotional state, and her and Jimmy's frustration over their inability to have a child grows after Philip's children are born. After a couple of years, Jimmy decides to visit his father and new stepmother in Texas, and Dawn decides to stay at the hotel, thinking it would be uncomfortable to see Ormand after everything that has happened. During this time, a drunken Philip tries to rape Dawn and talks about his fantasy of having a child with her. He stops when Christie catches them and starts to cry, and Dawn orders him to forget what he did and try to love his wife. When Jimmy returns, he reveals that he has found Fern, who was adopted after his father was arrested, and they go to her adoptive family to check on her. When Fern tells them that her adopted father sexually abused her, they take custody of her, and Dawn looks forward to resuming her sibling relationship with Fern. But, once she finds out that Fern has been stealing from the hotel guests, smoking, and flirting with older boys, she worries about her. Dawn is not able to convince Jimmy of his sister's delinquent activities, putting their relationship at jeopardy. Shortly after, Michael reappears in Dawn's life and asks if he can see Christie, which she reluctantly agrees. He apologizes to her for what he did to her and reveals that he was already married when they became lovers. He asks for her to get back together with him and raise Christie together. Dawn rejects him, saying Jimmy has adopted Christie and he is the only man she loves. Then, Michael reveals his true intention: $5,000 dollars from her to get back on his feet or he will take custody of Christie. With the help of the hotel lawyer and a private detective, she scares Michael away. Dawn is forced to comfort her mother, who suffers a mental breakdown after Clara Sue is killed in a truck accident. Fern reveals Dawn's visit with Michael, which makes him angry and Dawn convinces him that she will never leave him, allowing them to reconcile. Soon after, Dawn finds out that Fern made up her story about being sexually abused and wants to believe Fern when she says she wants Dawn and Jimmy to treat her like family, but Dawn has doubts that Fern really can change her ways. At the end, Dawn finds out that she is pregnant and tells Jimmy the good news. Midnight Whisper's Ten years later, Dawn is living a happy life with Jimmy and their two children. Her daughter, Christie, is celebrating her 16th birthday and Dawn plans a glamorous party for her. Dawn and Jimmy's child together, a son named Jefferson, is 9-years-old, and while she loves her son, Dawn has closer bond with Christie. Although she has to deal with Fern's drunkenness and immature behavior, dawn is happy that the birthday party was a success and opens up a bit more to Christie about her father, Michael. The next day, a boiler in the basement explodes and traps Jimmy, and Dawn tries to save him. She manages to reach him, but they are unable to escape and die as they clung to each other. Dawn is buried in the Cutler Cove cemetery next to Jimmy, and is most remembered for her kindness and determination. Rivalries Lillian Booth on the cover of Secrets of the Morning]] Immediately after Dawn's return to the Cutler family, Lillian Cutler has Dawn brought into the hotel through the back entrance used by the servants; thus worrying more about the hotel's reputation than seeing her long lost granddaughter. When Dawn comes face to face with her grandmother for the first time Lillian makes no effort to hide her hatred towards Dawn and tells Dawn that she has her mothers face, calling it childlike in a disdainful tone of voice. Lillian then calls Ormand Longchamp worthless and refers to Sally Jean Longchamp as Ormand's ragtag wife. Angered by Lillian's comments, Dawn talks back, defending Ormand and Sally Jean, which makes Lillian angry and she tells Dawn that she doesn't have the nicest manners. Lillian inspects Dawn from head to toe and shows no warmth of a grandmothers love, instead she forced Dawn to give up the name Dawn for her birth name Eugenia Grace Cutler, then she makes Dawn a chambermaid at the hotel and forces her to sleep in a small darkened room with 1 dirty window and a small bed. After Dawn gets settled in her room and goes to bed a few hours later she hears a woman outside by her bedroom door crying, the next morning, Lillian enters Dawn's bedroom with a disapproving look and yells at Dawn for sleeping in too late. When Dawn tells Lillian about a woman crying last night, Lillian denies it, orders Dawn to quickly eat in the kitchen and go to work. '''Notable Quotes: 'Clara Sue Cutler' From the minute Clara Sue meets Dawn she instantly dislikes her, in their first meeting she picks on Dawn, and even more so when she later realized that Dawn was revealed to be her half sister and later aunt as well. During one of Dawn's early stays at Cutler's Cove Clara Sue complains that Dawn cleaned her room, Dawn tells Clara that Grandmother Cutler ordered her to do so. Clara Sue taunts Dawn and tells her how much she hates her, that they are not in a movie and that she hated Dawn from birth, because everyone viewed Clara as the replacement daughter, after Dawn's kidnapping. The rivalry does not stop after the first book Dawn, the rivalry continues throughout Secrets of the Morning and Midnight Whisper's up until Clara's death. In Twilight's Child child Clara is the main catalyst in the reason for Dawn miscarrying and ending up having trouble convincing another child as well as only having two children instead of more, she also kidnaps Christie and takes her for a truck drive resulting in a huge fight with Dawn and ultimately to her miscarriage. Relationships 'Philip Cutler' Dawn's relationship with Philip Cutler was a very short high-school one. Dawn met Philip when she and Jimmy attended Emerson Peabody, where he attended. Dawn and Philip quickly began dating. Yet, shortly after Sally Jean, Dawn's adoptive mother dies, the police came and arrested Ormand, took Fern and Jimmy to foster homes, and returned Dawn to her real family, it is discovered that Dawn and Philip are really brother and sister. Philip never gets over this love obsession for Dawn, and even rapes Dawn later on, this only drives them further apart. 'Michael Sutton' The '''relationship Dawn has with Michael Sutton starts in Secrets of the Morning. Michael is a music teacher at Sarah Berdhardt. Dawn and Micheal's relationship becomes sexual and eventually, Dawn becomes pregnant. He convinces her that they'll go to Florida, get married, have the baby, and become famous singers. The next day, Trisha Kramer, Dawn's best friend tells Dawn that Michael left for London. Dawn eventually realizes that Michael seduced her. When she gave birth to Christie, she hoped the baby would have his sapphire eyes, which she did. Because of his abandonment, Dawn no longer cares for Michael and tries not to think of him. In the third book, Michael uses Christie as an excuse to squeeze money out of Dawn. Dawn frightens him away with a court case. That's the last Dawn sees of him. James Longchamp' James, or commonly Jimmy, was raised as Dawn's older brother. When Jimmy finds out that Dawn was not his sister, he tells her that he has been in love with her since they were small children and never told her because he felt sick for having so called incestuous feelings for her. Dawn admitts that she feels the same way and they later begin a romantic relationship but found it hard to overcome their upbringing as siblings. They eventually marry and he adopts Dawn's daughter, Christie. They eventually have a child together, a boy named Jefferson. Prior to Jefferson, they suffered a miscarriage. In the fourth novel, they die in a fire at the Cutler hotel, clinging to each other. Legacy & Death When a fire breaks out at Cutler's Cove, Dawn and Jimmy both die, leaving Chrisitie and Jefferson in sadness. ''Trivia :* Just like Dawn, Rain Arnold from the Hudson series, also gets sent to a fancy private music school. :* Heaven Casteel, like Dawn, was the result of a rape. only unlike Dawn, Heaven actually met her biological father. :* Catherine Dollanganger, like Dawn, she also had a cruel grandmother. Category:Characters Category:Dawn Longchamp Category:The Cutler Series Category:The Longchamp Family Category:The Cutler Family Category:Lillian Booth Category:James Longchamp Category:Christie Longchamp Category:Jefferson Longchamp Category:Michael Sutton Category:Philip Cutler Category:Emerson Peabody Category:V.C. Andrews Category:Andrew Neiderman Category:The Meadows Category:Cape Cod Category:Cutler's Cove Category:Sarah Bernhardt School for Performing Arts